Podcast Summary:

New Books Network – Luis Rechani Agrait, "My Excellency: Comedy in Three Acts" (Swan Isle Press, 2025)
Host: Jeffrey Herlo Guimera
Guest: Jonathan Cohen
Date: January 30, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of the New Books Network features a conversation between host Jeffrey Herlo Guimera and scholar/translator Jonathan Cohen about the first-ever publication of William Carlos Williams’s translation of My Excellency (“Mi Señoría”), a political comedic play by Puerto Rican playwright Luis Rechani Agrait. They delve into Williams’s lesser-known work as a translator, the intersections of Puerto Rican and American identity, and the cultural resonances that translation brings to both literature and lived experience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis of the Project and Personal Academic Context

• Literary Lineage & Influence

  • Jeffrey recounts how two books—Julio Marzán’s The Spanish American Roots of William Carlos Williams and Cohen’s By Word of Mouth—shaped his thinking and career, serving as inspirational scholarly models.
  • Quote:
    • “Translation for him was above all an act of poetry.” (Cohen, as cited by Guimera, 04:02)

• Williams’ Puerto Rican Connection

  • Williams’s 1940 visit to Puerto Rico, friendship with playwright Luis Rechani Agrait, and his cultural curiosity sparked the translation of My Excellency.

2. Jonathan Cohen’s Scholarly Trajectory [05:45]

• Began translating Latin American poetry as an undergraduate, influenced by a diverse literary and translation scene.

• Noted the long-time neglect of Williams’s translations in academia, leading to his decade-long recovery of Williams’s translation output from Spanish, French, Chinese, and Greek.

• Quote:

  • “Without appreciating Williams's translation work, one cannot fully appreciate his development and his achievement as a writer.” (Cohen, 07:48)

3. The Discovery and Condition of the Manuscript [09:01]

• Cohen found the play’s manuscript in the University of Buffalo catalog in 2019.
• Only the first two acts (of three) were found; the third act’s translation is missing, raising questions about authorship, loss, or intention (09:51).

4. Williams as Translator: Methods & Motivations [10:24, 13:36]

• Williams used translation as a creative tool to sharpen his dramatic dialogue, practice his “American idiom,” and bridge his international and local identities.

• He offered little on translation theory, emphasizing instead poetic skill and the goal of making a great work in English.

  • Memorable Quote:
    • “Recreating the poetic quality of the original text is key to success. Theories don't help all that much. Poetic skill does.” (Cohen, 12:27)

• Williams intended the translation to find a producer, and perhaps never completed the third act due to his demanding medical and literary careers.

5. Language, Family & Cultural Mediation [16:57, 18:17]

• Williams’s multilingual home life (Spanish from mother, English from grandmother, Spanish literature from father) deeply shaped his writing and translation sensibilities.

• Translation acted as cultural bridgework, blending his Puerto Rican heritage and New Jersey upbringing.

  • Quote:
    • “…his ambition was to really, as translator, be a bridge, a cultural bridge between the New York area, New Jersey and San Juan, Puerto Rico…” (Cohen, 16:57)

• Spanish served as a resource for technique and innovation, especially apparent in Patterson.

6. Translation as Creativity and Identity Work [22:39, 28:58]

• Translation was a source of literary invention and personal exploration for Williams, not merely an academic exercise.

• Working with both parents in translation expanded his engagement with Spanish and world literature.

• Revision was central; Williams often endlessly refined translations, seeing them as living texts.

• Quote:

  • “A translation was never finished, it can only be abandoned.” (Cohen, 27:16)

7. Neglect of Williams’s Translation in Scholarship [28:58]

• Williams's translations were long seen as secondary to his “original” work—a result of academic nationalism and disciplinary boundaries.
  • Quote:
    • “My contention is that without appreciating his work as a translator, one cannot fully appreciate his development and his achievement as a writer.” (Cohen, 29:44)

8. Context and Relevance for Today’s Audience [32:03]

• The new book provides:

  • A political satire that illuminates Puerto Rican history and 1930s politics.
  • Layers of scholarly context (essays by Marzán, Cohen, and Ramos Escobar).
  • An invitation for Puerto Rican students to explore local culture and global creative exchange.

• Quote:

  • “For a Puerto Rican student, the book should open up Puerto Rican culture…The play is a product of…an effort by dramatist, Puerto Rican dramatists…to really write stories by Puerto Ricans about Puerto Rico for the world.” (Cohen, 33:44)

9. Intersections, Identity, and Misunderstandings [38:57, 40:41]

• Williams’s dual identity (“Bill” vs. “Carlos”) impacted how he represented himself publicly versus what he drew on creatively.

• The translation reveals “Carlos”—his Puerto Rican, multilingual side—often missing from his authorized autobiographical narrative.

  • Quote:
    • “The translation of My Excellency was done by Carlos. And this is that aspect of Williams…his half Puerto Rican self. And this work, this book really is another piece of that puzzle of Williams Puerto Rican roots.” (Cohen, 39:25)

• Williams’s home life and cultural “otherness” shaped not only his literary sensibility, but also his interactions and self-conceptions as an American poet.

10. Current and Future Projects [44:40]

• Cohen is working on a translation and selection of early poems by Chilean poet Enrique Lihn, forthcoming from New Directions.

Memorable Quotes by Theme

• On Translation as Poetry:

  • “Translation for him was above all an act of poetry.” (Guimera quoting Cohen, 04:02)
  • “A great poem written in a foreign language must be a great poem in its English translation.” (Cohen, 13:36)

• On Bridging Cultures:

  • “His ambition was to really, as translator, be a bridge, a cultural bridge between the New York area, New Jersey and San Juan, Puerto Rico…” (Cohen, 16:57)

• On Overlooked Translations:

  • “Translation…has been elevated…It long had been considered in English departments a secondary kind of work, not an act of poetry, not a form of creative writing.” (Cohen, 29:28)

• On Revision and Translation:

  • “A translation was never finished, it can only be abandoned.” (Cohen, 27:16)

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• Introduction of Project’s Importance [02:15–05:42]
• Cohen’s Biography and Scholarly Motivations [05:43–08:12]
• Manuscript’s Incompleteness and Editorial Challenges [09:01–10:14]
• Williams’s Approach to Translation [13:36–15:24]
• Translation as Cultural Mediation [16:57]
• Reflection on Williams’s Multilingual Household [18:17–24:58]
• Theoretical & Institutional Neglect of Translation [28:58–30:13]
• Advice for Contemporary Puerto Rican Students [32:03–35:00]
• Williams’s Split Identity – “Bill” vs. “Carlos” [38:57–42:33]
• Cohen’s Current Translation Projects [44:40]

Thematic Takeaways

• Translation is Central for Literary Innovation: Williams’s engagement with translation is not auxiliary but foundational, creating space for experimentation within—and a bridge between—languages and cultures.
• Dual Identity as Creative Resource: Williams’s negotiation of Puerto Rican and “mainstream” American identity is a source of both struggle and literary richness.
• Revival and Recognition: Efforts like Cohen’s bring crucial attention to the neglected but formative work of translation in multi-ethnic, diasporic literary histories.
• Relevance to Today’s Readers: The text and its context invite students to reconnect with local histories and to see translation as both an artistic and civic act.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in literary translation, Puerto Rican studies, William Carlos Williams, or the cultural intersections at play in American literature. The conversation is warm, deeply knowledgeable, and an inspiration to view translation as central—rather than peripheral—to the making of meaning across borders.